I enjoy my small bod factor punt PC , but I ’ll accommodate , it ’s not perfect . Icrammed the RTX 4090 insidea pillow slip the size of a toaster , leave piffling to no way for a cooler on top of myRyzen 7 7800X3D. That ’s lead to high fan noise and concerning temperatures as I weave in and out of game , keep me on the edge of my backside as to if my PC is operate within safe conditions . But I may have found a solution to put my trouble to rest .
It ’s calledCamomile , which claims to offer a “ one - click undervolt ” for your CPU . It sounds like meaninglessness , and there ’s a certain level of marketing surrounding the app targeted at the tech illiterate — if you know the developer , Outbyte , that probably does n’t fall as a surprise . Much to my surprise , however , Camomile lower my CPU temperatures while only sacrificing a hair of performance , which was all the more shocking view how straight it was to use .
A note of caution
Before digging into this clause , I desire to talk a snatch about Outbyte . If you ’re unfamiliar , Outbyte is a developer that makes mostly tool for Windows PCs that are n’t know for being particularly utile . The company has a microcomputer repair tool , which cleans your register and temporary files , and a driver updater , which search automatically for new machine driver . Those sound fine , but Windows itself already finds new drivers through Windows Update , and Microsoft in reality recommends against fly the coop registry clean programme like CCleaner .
It ’s crucial to set up the phase that Outbyte is in the business of these personal computer melodic line - up apps , appealing mainly to user who do n’t know what they do n’t know . There ’s also some misleading merchandising surrounding Camomile as an app . On the website for the peter , for example , Outbyte claims “ 14th - generation processors , ” presumptively those from Intel , can reach 115 level Celsius . That ’s not true , and it ’s just one lesson of that fudging Outbyte has done in the selling of its apps .
In addition , some Outbyte apps have previously been flagged by MalwareBytes ( and only MalwareBytes ) as Potentially Unwanted Programs , or puppy . That ’s not malware — pup arepotentiallyunwanted , and the safeguard is in office for things like software bundled inside of installers . I scanned the Camomile installer and my entire PC after it was installed , and there were n’t any flags . It should also be noted thatCamomile is a free app , which in the context of this company ’s reputation might raise more headache .
That being said , I ’ve also been using the app for a while now without upshot and have n’t noticed anything suspicious . Even so , I want to ensure we ’re all on the same pageboy about Outbyte before you go and install an app on your PC .
By the numbers
Camomile is extremely simple . It show some information like your temperatures for your CPU , GPU , and SSD , and you could adjust a few preferences like if the app commence with your PC . That ’s it , though . Otherwise , you could either turn Camomile on or off . The app is n’t undervolting your CPU — if it has that grade of access to your ironware , that ’s concerning — but it ’s still doing something . Before getting to that , rent ’s check on performance .
I only ran a few trial here , but the only one to mark is Cinebench R24 ’s multi - core test . In bothCyberpunk 2077andBlack Myth : Wukong , the performance stayed identical while importantly reducing temperature . Cinebench was a dissimilar story . With Camomile on , my score went down by 13 % , which is a middling large drop . It ’s a drop I ’m unforced to accept for my gaming - focussed PC , but that would n’t be the slip if I were run a lot of CPU - heavy workloads .
The temperature drop was much bigger , though . As you may see in the chart above , with Camomile off , the Ryzen 7 7800X3D hung out just below 90 degree Celsius for the majority of the footrace . With the app on , it seldom fail over 60 arcdegree — a 33 % pearl . Camomile itself report your CPU temperatures , but I tuck this data with HWInfo . And sure enough , the numbers show in the app were accurate .
A 13 % drop in performance for 33 % humbled temperatures is n’t the best return on investment , at least when it comes toproper processor undervolting . What was really surprising was how temperatures held up in games . InCyberpunk 2077,which you could see above , Camomile bring an average temperature between 65 and 70 degrees down to between 50 and 55 degrees , and while delivering identical functioning in the game . That ’s the form of return I can get behind .
Similarly , inBlack Myth : Wukong , Camomile kept the CPU temperature almost completely locked at around 53 degrees . With the app off , there was a abbreviated spike up to nearly 80 arcdegree before the fan ramped up and keep the temperature around 60 degree . Once again , that ’s a great comeback when you ’re seeing monovular carrying out in a game .
What’s happening?
Behind the scene , Camomile is n’t doing anything too brainsick . It ’s adjusting king stage setting that are uncommitted within Windows , and in particular , it appear the app limits how advanced processors advance to gamy frequencies . That becomes jolly obvious once you depend at clock speeding with the app on in Cinebench . With Camomile off , the Ryzen 7 7800X3D promote to around 4.8GHz , and with the app on , it was just shy of 4.2GHz . And , while there ’s some sport with Camomile off , the clock f number with the app turned on was essentially a mat line .
That 4.2GHz number is n’t a coincidence . It ’s the basal relative frequency of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Camomile is n’t undervolting your CPU , where you maintain the same clock speed while drawing less tycoon . It ’s incapacitate the rise machine characteristic of a mainframe , efficaciously downclocking the chip . If you ’re unfamiliar , it ’s important to note here that undervolting and downclocking are n’t the same affair , even if they strive to achieve exchangeable goal .
determine the boost operation is n’t a bad matter necessarily , particularly in games . InCyberpunk 2077,you could see above that the Ryzen 7 7800X3D once again locked in at its base clock upper of 4.2GHz . With the app off , you’re able to see how the hike clock speed jumps around all over the place , going up to near 5GHz and down to the base clock fastness constantly over the course of a arcminute . Those extra jumps play more estrus without any supernumerary performance .
InBlack Myth : Wukong , the situation is similar . This plot does n’t leverage the CPU as expeditiously asCyberpunk 2077does , and because of that , you could see more variation with Camomile flex on . Still , the app was able to forfend these abbreviated spike in clock f number , limiting the central processor to 4.2GHz to generate less heat . And in the linguistic context of a biz running at 4 potassium , that extra clock speed is wasted .
There are surely difference when looking at different CPUs in different games at different resolution . But for my small chassis agent gaming PC , Camomile essentially take a crap my central processing unit tank for free .
If you have any doubtfulness that Camomile is basically just adjust your business leader setting , here ’s a look in Control Panel . you may see that app creates its own power plan and turn off the turbo conduct of the processor . you’re able to do this yourself , either in the Control Panel or through Windows PowerShell , but if you do n’t need to get your hand marked-up , Camomile is doing the same thing .
Not for everyone
Camomile is mostly place at laptop computer users , and it ’s obvious why . It ’s an app that only puddle sensation if you are in a thermally constrain environment , such as a laptop , or a pocket-size form factor desktop trying to apply flagship ironware with limited cooling system to back it up . If you have a normal screen background , do n’t download Camomile . A simple undervolt will take you further if you’re able to poke your head in the BIOS for a minute .
Still , I ’m shocked that Camomile crop in the first place . Misleading as the undervolt title is , the app managed to lour my temperatures while barely affecting performance in games . Part of that is a testament to the efficiency of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D , but Camomile still did some heavy lifting . I ’m not keeping the app around — I ’d rather just set up my own top executive architectural plan — but if you find out yourself limited on thermal headroom , you should keep Camomile in mind .